It Began With A Sleepover
by iana silmir
Summary: This is my first fanfic LOTR with extra people. Iana and Silver thought they were happy with their lives, but what will they do now that they're thrown into Middle Earth literally... AU
1. Chapter 1

Iana POV

I looked at my half empty bag, trying to figure out why it wasn't full to bursting as it usually would be. I scratched my head thinking; it wouldn't do good to get all the way to Lorraine's house and find that I've forgotten something… I searched in the bag, scanning through a mental checklist. Nighties… check; toothbrush and toothpaste… check; clothes… plenty of them! CD's? Yep; CD player… Can't go anywhere without that!

I span around slowly, taking in my bedroom. The dressing table? Nope, I had all the make-up and jewellery I needed in the bag. I turned slightly and the window came into view. I had the only bedroom in our house with a large bay window; Silver and I usually sat on the window seat to spy on people in their gardens and to talk together without my nosey brother Kurt and his mates, Chad and Jared, seeing us. I smiled as I thought of the things they got up to in the garden when they thought no one could see them… Mainly lighting each others farts and stuff like that... But no, nothing on the window seat I needed to take. The full length mirror? No, nothing near there… The wardrobe? No; all the clothes I needed were in my bag neatly folded, along with a pair of Converse… The computer? Nah; my iPod was in the bag… The bookcase? No, I… hold on a mo…

I clicked my fingers happily as I realised what I had left out; I strolled over to the huge pine bookcase, scanning the titles as I went.

"There they are…" I murmured to myself, pulling out a couple of books… Well… when I say 'a couple', I mean around six or seven… it's just the way I am. I carried the pile of books over to my bed and started packing them into the bag. I grabbed the zip and tried to close the bag over, but I had too much stuff in there. So what did I do? Did I do the normal thing and get a bigger bag? Nope; I sat on it! After that things went a lot more smoothly… I twirled around once more to check I hadn't left anything important, which was nothing as far as I could see. I turned back to my bed, picked up the bag and slung it over my shoulder.

"Whoa!" I cried as I fell over backwards, landed on the bag and gave another cry as one of the books stabbed me in the back. I got up hurriedly and hobbled over to the mirror, rubbing my back. I turned around and lifted my top slightly. It didn't surprise me at all to see a huge red line appearing across my ribs, showing up horribly against my pallid skin. I sighed and let my top fall back down; it wasn't the first time I'd been injured. I and Silver always seemed to get into all kinds of scrapes without trying to; thankfully nothing ever serious… yet…

I sat down at my dressing table and looked at myself, trying to understand why people hated the way I looked. Okay I'm a Goth and everything, but why do people fear us? I frowned and checked my make-up. My eyeliner was fine, not even the slightest black smudge. The dark grey eye shadow was okay, as was my black lipstick. My ears ached a bit; I'd just had them pierced again at the sides. I now had three on each ear at the normal places on the bottom of the lobe, one at the top on my left, three on the top of my right and now another at the sides on each ear, all in silver… I have this huge thing about silver…jewellery that is… not my friend… ewww!

I poked my new piercings experimentally, earning myself a nasty jab of pain. I hissed and rubbed them gently. I looked in the mirror at myself again. My eyes stared at me, bright blue, stark contrast to my white skin. My eyes were strange, as they seemed to change depending on my type of mood. Varying from pale for scared, tired, dark for angry, annoyed etc. I looked at my hair, hanging before my face. It was almost down to my bottom now, a long tumbling mass of dark brown hair. It was so temperamental; straight at times, wavy at others, sometimes a mixture. No matter what I tried using on it, it never calmed down, always slightly wild and trying to get away. Silver's hair never did that…How did she do it? Even at the age of 24 I still couldn't manage my own hair… What's wrong with me?

You'd never guess I was a Goth by looking at my room. Alright, the jewellery and make-up on the dressing table might give you an idea, but not the bedroom itself. My room is decorated in creams and earthy colours with gold fixings and dark pine furniture. I'm into all that medieval stuff with four-poster beds with white hangings, long flowing curtains and luxury sheets. But I express myself behind closed doors, literally. All my posters are tacked up behind the doors of my cupboards and my wardrobe. Pretty scary if you're not used to it… I mean, when you open the door… and these faces stare out… Well, you get the picture…

I stood and walked over to my full size mirror to check my clothes. I was wearing a marbled velvet dark purple and black top with long, black silk bell sleeves and a cobweb motif on the chest, and dark grey/silver jeans with white graffiti on one leg. I brushed myself down and picked up my boots from beside the mirror. They were flat soled, black leather with laces and buckles around them, my favourite pair. I grinned and began lacing and strapping them up, keeping my jeans tucked inside. That done, I opened my wardrobe to get a coat. I doubted Silver would like it if I turned up in a huge black leather coat looking like a bat, so that narrowed my options. I frowned when I remembered Kurt had borrowed my long black cardigan to go to a 'Good Charlotte' concert which he decided he wouldn't take me to even though I like them more than him and I had all of their posters and merchandise and… I took a deep breath to calm myself down before I blew up… I carefully picked up my bag and left the room, closing the door and locking it with a key that hung around my neck.

I knocked on Kurt's bedroom door and entered without waiting for a reply, looking around. The walls were plastered in posters of Punk, Rock and Heavy Metal bands; the desk and tables were littered with magazines, slips of paper, CD's and sweet wrappers galore. The heavy curtains were closed, plunging the room into total darkness. I found Kurt, Chad and Jared sitting on the floor, staring intently at the bright TV screen before them. Kurt was playing 'Soul Reaver 2' on the Playstation 2, one of my favourite games that he was trying to complete for a bet. Kurt had boasted that 'Soul Reaver' was an easy game; even without the cheats… He only thought that because I was able to wiz through it in almost five hours, allowing time for the videos. But here he was; still in the 'Sarafan Stronghold' at the very beginning of the game, being attacked by three Pike women, his 'Material Energy' gradually disappearing. I could see him getting steadily angrier, especially at Chad and Jared calling out hints to him.

"Go left!"

"Duck!"

"Watch ou… Ooo… bet that hurt…"

"Wait… wait… now!"

I grimaced as Kurt practically punched the pause button and threw the controller onto the floor, his head in his hands. I liked my older brother; he was 27, almost six feet tall, lightly tanned; muscular with a certain charm about him that always attracted the ladies. He didn't have the blue eyes and wild dark brown hair that I had; he had brown eyes with short, spiky blonde hair, kind of like one of the singers from 'Sum 41'. Come to think of it, none of my family had blue eyes and brown hair; they were all brown eyed and blonde… Why am I different?

Chad was 26, almost six feet tall again, but had almost white skin like me, long black hair, two different coloured eyes… To put it simply, the spitting image of Marilyn Manson, one of my favourite singers. Jared was 25, a bit shorter than the other two, with pale skin, ginger/red hair and green eyes. Both of them had a wicked sense of humour, but only Chad knew when to stop. The personalities of all three of them were exactly the same; funny and sensitive, but kind, caring and brave when the occasion called for it. Kurt always teased and played tricks on me when Chad and Jared were here, but he was always there to help me and protect me. I remembered a time when I was only 6. A group of boys around 9 years old were tripping me up and pushing me into a muddy puddle, when Kurt turned up. At 13, he scared the pants off those lads, before turning around to help me up. Watching this memory again, I realised that it was wrong. Kurt was only three years older than me, not seven… And this Kurt had long blonde wavy hair, and was wearing strange clothes; almost… armour…

"What do you want?" Kurt growled savagely, still angry with the game. I flinched; he hardly ever talked to me like that. Chad and Jared looked up apparently noticing me for the first time; well, either that or fresh air…

"I'm here for my cardigan…" I told him, stepping over a pile of dirty clothes and dumping my bag on his bed.

"What cardigan?" Kurt asked quietly, glancing at Chad and Jared, worried, "I don't wear cardigans-"

"Yes you do…" Chad butted in, "You wore one at that 'Good Charlotte' concert a couple of weeks back…" Kurt narrowed his eyes and reached over to him with both hands, ready to strangle… I cleared my throat.

"I need to leave within the next five minutes…" I hinted; Kurt stood up and walked over to his wardrobe, opening the doors and searching noisily through the junk at the bottom. I glanced at the TV screen where Raziel was paused mid-jump, sword in hand… claw… whatever… With Chad and Jared watching, I grabbed the controller and un-paused the game. My fingers a blur, I used the sword to kill one Pike woman, put the sword down, ate her soul, picked up her pike and proceeded to finish off the other two, filling Raziel's 'Material Energy' coil. I threw the pike away and picked up the sword, pressed the jump button and paused the game again, making it look as if I had done nothing…

"Cool…" Chad and Jared breathed together, watching me as I stood up again. I smiled at them and mouthed, 'I've completed it 25 times.' Their mouths dropped open in shock; Kurt returned bearing a reasonably clean black cardigan that I put on and grabbed my bag from his bed.

"Here… now leave us alone… I'm _trying_ to play a game…" he muttered, pushing me in the small of my back.

"Got the 'trying' part right…" I told him before he opened the door and slid me out.

"Bye Iana," Jared called.

"Yeah, see ya later!" Chad cried, waving madly from behind Kurt's bed as Kurt closed the door.

"If I'm not attacked by a Mad Axe Murderer on the way to Silver's that is!" I laughed and looked inside the room again. It was weird; I could only see the top of Chad's head, his hands and Jared's hands waving at me from behind the bed. There was a roar of rage as Kurt realised I'd played 'his' game… So I slid down the banister and out the front door as quick as lightning.

"I'll kill you!" I turned around to find Kurt's head hanging out of our parent's bedroom window. I kissed my hand, turned around and bent over, slapping my behind in a rude gesture. Then I slung my bag over my shoulder before he could follow and ran down the road, a silent winged shadow in the brightness of the day…


	2. Chapter 2

A.N; Thank you everyone for reading! Even if you don't review, I'm still made up that people like me enough to read my work. This next chapter is mostly in the point of view of my best friend Silver; whenever her POV appears, this is a part that she has written without any input from me. Oh, by the way, the LOTR elements of this story have been modified to fit in with my plans for the story, so stuff like ages and that have been tweaked a bit…

Thank you Evendim for reviewing; I decide to put this chapter on earlier than I was planning because you liked it!

Silver POV

"Hang on a minute… let me get my stuff…" I hissed, making calming movements with my hands; Iana had arrived dressed up _totally_ Gothic and out of breath, having run here escaping her brother… Don't blame her really… I'd run away from mine if I could… I was wearing my dark grey, almost black, jeans with a kind of vine embroidery up the right leg to the knee, and a white t-shirt with a little chibi Legolas on the front, looking very cute… as always! I pulled on my trainers and grabbed my bag quickly; Iana was always early… Well, she was always here before I was ready… not necessarily early. I shouted a goodbye to my older brothers, Ben and Dylan, who merely grunted in answer.

"Help! The house is on fire!" I yelled, trying to get a better response; I'm sure they had both turned into apes. They just grunted again.

"OH MY GOD! THERE GOES KIRA KNIGHTLY!" Iana screamed, 'helping'… I heard a scuffle and suddenly, both my brothers appeared at the door, the remains of toast still in their mouths. When they looked and realised that Kira Knightly would never come here, they glared at me.

"What?" I cried, "It was Iana!"

Both of them looked at my best friend; they remained silent and I wondered why they weren't yelling at her…

"Why aren't you yelling at her?" I asked innocently. The 29-year-old Dylan grinned at me and ruffled my hair; a gesture I despised. His black hair was shiny with health… and gel… and his green eyes glinted happily. How could he be so cheerful in the morning?

"She's already brain damaged enough," he said, grinning at Iana too, "I mean, look at the way she dresses."  
"You will be cursed by the morn," she replied, her eyes darkening as she narrowed them in an evil way to him. His grin went so wide that it astounded me.

"Great! I wasn't looking forward to going to work tomorrow…" he said and disappeared, back into the house. Ben was just standing there, staring at Iana. He was 27 and was more like me in the mornings, usually tired and quick to anger. He also had black hair, but had brown eyes instead of green. I was the only person in my family with auburn hair… weird…

"What are you staring at?" Iana asked angrily.

"Do you choose to dress like that, or does your brother force you to?" he asked.

"I force my brother to dress like me… Poor weakling," Iana sighed, flicking her hair over her shoulder in impatience. Ben shook his head in confusion and followed Dylan inside.

"Bye Silv," he called on his way in. I jumped up, punching the air in glee, despite my heavy bag.

"Yes! At least one of them knows I'm alive!" I cried; Ben popped his head around the door and grinned, almost as wide as Dylan's.

"I thought Silver was the name of next door's cat," he said. I growled and made to dive at his head; Iana grabbed my arm.

"You can kill him when you get back. We said we'd be at Lorraine's by 11," Iana told me, "We're already ten minutes late!"

I gave up and stepped out of my house, pulling my bag back onto my shoulder. Iana's bag looked fit to burst and I eyed it, almost as if I thought it would explode.

"What have you got in there?" I asked; Iana glanced down at it.

"Not quite sure…" she muttered, shrugging her shoulders, "It doesn't matter… Let's go!" I kept my eye on the bag.

"Are you sure it's not going to explode?" I questioned, stepping out and closing the door.

"I'm sure, now move!" she growled; I smiled as I imagined some fit lad with one of Iana's bras on his head… embarrassing…

Iana POV

We talked practically nonsense as we travelled, laughing when people looked at us - or me- strangely… Same thing… We passed through the town centre towards the bridge over the local river. Cars were driving over it on their way to work, throwing out choking fumes as they did so.

We were halfway across the bridge when I realised we were being followed; I nudged Silver and indicated behind us. She turned her head slightly, before swinging it back almost immediately. I frowned; Silver gulped.

'David, Karl and Tony,' she mouthed. I took a sly glance at them; all three were wearing hoodies in differing shades of grey, with caps, jeans and wrecked trainers. I hitched my bag up and gestured for Silver to walk faster; there was the sound of pounding feet and the lads appeared before us. We stopped walking and looked at them.

"Where're you two goin'?" Karl asked, leaning on the wall next to Silver, who narrowed her eyes in distaste; Karl was still sore from the time Silver blew him off, which was probably why he kept hounding her.

"None of your business!" I replied savagely, trying to push past Tony, who promptly grabbed my wrist to stop me. "Let go now…" I hissed, baring my teeth in anger; Tony looked scared and loosened his hold. Silver tried to follow me, but Karl stood in her way.

"Move… GET OFF ME!" she yelled hysterically; Karl had her by the arm and was leering in her face, probably gassing Silver with his bad breath.

"I'll get off if you go out with me," he laughed; Silver looked disgusted.

"Get lost! I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last person on earth; even a pig looks more attractive than you!" she cried. I smiled; good insult… Karl obviously didn't find it as amusing as me and his friends - who were laughing their heads off - did.

"You cow! I just felt sorry for you because you're a dog!" he yelled; I held my breath. No one insulted Silver and got away with it. They were usually left sore in one place or another… My theory was proved correct when she slapped him… His hand went to his stinging cheek and he stared at her in shock. I heard his two friends draw breath sharply, almost feeling his pain. The shock soon turned to rage and he pushed her against the wall with a twisted smile on his face.

"Fancy a dip, Silver?" he asked evilly, "Iana can go with you," he added. David and Tony grabbed my arms, dragging me to the wall while I struggled; I knew what they were going to do… they were going to push us in!

"Don't even think about it, Karl," Silver warned, growling. He smiled, and pushed her, making her topple over the waist-height wall, bag in tow; I managed to scratch his face before the same happened to me…

If you like, please review, even if it's anonymous! Every little helps! smacks forehead Crap, now the Tesco people will be after my hide…


	3. Chapter 3

No reviews; nobody likes me! sobs Please review! Even if it's anonymous, just give me a couple of words of encouragement! I have chapter four ready, but I can't post it if no one likes the story! breaks down

Disclaimer; I own nothing in this story, apart from Iana and Silver; Tolkien got there before me...

Aragorn POV

I was fed up; Merry and Sam were arguing again. They had been like that ever since Glorfindel took Frodo to Rivendell. Without Frodo to calm Sam down, Sam got uptight and snappy. Merry, who very often played tricks on him, bore the brunt of his anger. The only person not bothered about the arguing was Pippin… He was more interested in the food he was devouring…

We were near Rivendell, following the river to get to the ford, where Frodo and Glorfindel had crossed. We had stopped for lunch, there being no reason to hurry now that Frodo was safe in Rivendell with the Elves. Sam and Merry's constant arguing was giving me a headache. I waded into a shallow part of the river and splashed some of the cool water on my face; it gave me slight relief.

"Strider… what's that?" Pippin asked, looking up from his food. I sighed and looked up to where he was gazing. He was gazing into the sky, so was probably wondering what type of bird was flying above us. I looked and stepped back in shock. There was a hole… in the sky… just one bit of sky that didn't match the sky surrounding it, almost as if it cut into another world. It was quite close to the water, only a few feet above it. I drew my sword and waded towards it. Suddenly, something fell through the hole… it gave a yell of terror and I saw that it was a person, with long hair, whipping up around it as it fell. It fell into the water with a splash. Something, a bag I think, fell after it, and landed heavily on a rock in the middle of the river. I could see the person, floating, being carried past by the current. It looked like he or she was unconscious, because it wasn't a strong current. A person could easily wade or swim against it. I sheathed my sword and dived into the water, after this person. As I reached him/her I grabbed him/her around the waist and dragged him/her back towards the shore, hoping that this person was alright.

Sam and Merry had stopped arguing and helped Pippin pull the body onto the bank. Before I got out too, I looked up at the sky; the hole was shrinking… shrinking… until it finally disappeared… Strange… I wonder what it was…

"Strider! It's a girl!" Pippin cried in astonishment. I quickly hauled myself up onto the bank and knelt beside the still figure. She had a cut on her head. She had obviously hit her head on a rock or something. I looked down at her and almost gasped in surprise. She was pretty, very pretty, around 20 years old, with pale skin, and full, soft lips. Her hair was thick, a rich, auburn colour which was rarely seen in Middle-Earth. I let my eyes follow the shape of her body, and then pulled them back up to look at her face.

"Who is she?" Merry asked quietly. "Do you know her, Strider?"

"No… I don't know her…" I breathed, touching her soft, pale cheek. I searched in my bag for some things to heal the gash on her head with. I was just healing her when she came round. The Hobbits stepped back, to give her more room and she groaned.

"I'm going to kill those bastards!" she moaned, then opened her eyes. I was quite taken aback by the anger in her gentle voice.

"Going to kill who?" I asked as she opened her eyes. They were hazel, warm and magical, with a wonderful little spark.

"The bastards that pushed me off the bridge," she told me, sitting up carefully. She didn't look at me properly, but looked around her. I was surprised that someone could push something so pretty off a bridge, but for all I know, she could be working for the Dark Lord.

"Why did they push you off the bridge?" I asked cautiously.

"Because I told one of them that I wouldn't find him attractive if he was the last man in the world. A pig is more attractive than him…" she replied, still looking around, almost as if she'd lost something. I cursed myself as I smiled.

"Did you really say that? How did he react?" I asked.

"Well, I don't think he was too pleased; he pushed me off the bridge. Where's my bag?" she asked, unconcerned about her head injury.

"It's on a rock over there…" I told her, gesturing towards the river. "Let me see to the cut in your head…"

"Oh my god! All my stuff is in there!" she cried and jumped up. She ran into the water, despite my protests and waded over to the rock. She reached the bag and held it over her head, out of the water while she slowly made her way back to the bank. She was careful not to get the bag wet and placed the bag carefully on the bank before coming out of the water.

"You should let me see to your wound," I told her.

"I'm fine. I just hope this stuff is dry and unbroken," she said. The Hobbits came forward, interested in what was so important to her. Perhaps they thought it was food. She looked up at the movement and gave a start when she saw them. She looked them up and down, noticing their large, hairy feet, and their small size. She backed away, slowly, right against me.

"Oh my god… You look so much like… Are you seeing this?" she turned to look at me and screamed when she saw me. She jumped away from me, almost as if I had scalded her. She stared at us, her eyes wide with astonishment and fear; I didn't want her to be afraid of me. "This isn't happening… I must've banged my head harder than I thought…" she muttered, putting her hand up to her head. I stepped closer to her, concerned for her.

"Let me see to you…" I pleaded. She picked up her bag and ran; she reminded me of a fleeting deer because she ran so fast. I quickly pursued her, calling out for her to stop. I managed to reach her and I grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. "Who are you?" I asked her.

"My name's Silver…" she told me, not daring to look at me.

"Let me heal you, and then I'll let you go… if you want to go…" I told her gently. She was shivering because of the wet clothes she was wearing. I undid my cloak and put it around her, then led her back to the Hobbits. I sat her down and got some things out of my pack. I then proceeded to clean her wound and heal her. She was very quiet and kept very still.

"Are you alright? There's no reason to be afraid of us. We won't hurt you," Merry told her gently.

"I know… well, you seem really nice and everything…" she said quietly. "I'm sorry about running off…"

"Why did you run off?" I asked softly. "Are you working for Sauron?"

"No… I just know you… You are Aragorn, son of Arathorn, King of Gondor, also known as Estel and Strider… These are Hobbits from the Shire, Merry, Pippin and Sam. The ring-bearer, Frodo has been taken to Rivendell," she said flatly. I stopped what I was doing and stared at her.

"How do you know that? Have you been following us?" I asked her. She shook her head and looked at the floor.

"Where I came from, there is a book that tells me about you, and what Frodo carries… I can't explain more until I speak with Gandalf… But I am not in league with Sauron… I promise you…" she said. I lifted her chin gently, so she looked at me. I believed her… Her eyes were confused and frightened, but she wasn't lying.

"I believe you," I told her. I noticed she was shivering. "You'd better get out of those clothes. Do you have anything to get changed into?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, I've got loads of clothes in my bag… Sorry, I've made your cloak all wet," she apologised, handing me my cloak back.

"It's alright," Silver stood up and picked up her bag.

"I'll be back in a minute, I promise. I wouldn't last five minutes out here alone…" she said and disappeared into the forest.

"She's strange. I wonder where she's from… But I do trust her… it's strange," Pippin said. I nodded in agreement.

"Lord Elrond had a daughter, but she went missing ages ago, captured by the agents of the Dark Lord… Her name was Silver. I wonder if she is… She is about the right age, and the mother was said to have that colour hair…" I said. Could she be Elrond's daughter?

"But, Stri-Aragorn… She's human…" Merry said.

"Mmm… I guess it's just a coincidence," I muttered; Elrond would have been so pleased to have his daughter back…

"What's a coincidence?" Silver asked as she walked up to us. She had changed into some more of those strange trousers, this time in a blue colour, and was wearing a white, floaty top with long sleeves. She really did have some strange clothes…

"Oh, nothing. We'll take you to Rivendell with us, if you want," I offered. She smiled at me and I smiled back, feeling privileged to have a smile off her.

"Okay, thanks," she said, gratefully.

"Let's get going then," I said and stood up. At once all three of the Hobbits groaned.

"But we haven't finished eating!" Sam protested; I smiled apologetically at Silver. She then gasped and searched in her bag for something. She fished out four bar shapes, covered in a shiny substance. They each said _Dairy Milk_ on them.

"Aha!" she exclaimed and tossed one to each of the Hobbits, then one to me. "You can eat them. They're really nice."

We looked at the things in our hands, then back at her, confused. She sighed and came over to me.

"Here…" she said and opened mine to reveal a brown, smooth substance. She then broke a bit off and ate it. "It's chocolate… A treat from where I come from. You can bite into it and swallow, or let it melt in your mouth and swallow. It's creamy… Have a taste," she urged. "Open the wrappers… and don't eat the shiny stuff."  
The Hobbits just looked at her, cautious.

"Look, I'm not trying to poison you… I need you to look after me. Go on, Aragorn, take a bite."

I bit into it and found it was quite hard. I liked the creamy, smooth taste of it and let it melt in my mouth before swallowing, loving the taste of it. It made me feel warm and happy inside. I made a noise of approval and the Hobbits eagerly opened theirs.

"Do you want any more?" I asked Silver as the Hobbits all went 'Mmmm' at once. She laughed.

"No thanks. I'm not hungry… besides; we've just had Easter where we come from. Loads of chocolate…" she said and the Hobbits' eyes widened.

"You're so lucky…" Sam said and devoured the rest of his chocolate bar. Pippin put half of his in the wrapper and put it in his pocket, saving it for later while Merry did the same as Sam, then all three of them looked eagerly at mine. I quickly ate it, savouring the taste as it melted in my mouth. Silver just smiled and hitched her bag up onto her back.

"Everyone ready to go now?" she asked. The Hobbits nodded and cleared up quickly, hoping to get more of the chocolate if they were good. Soon we were on our way. I walked in front, with Silver next to me. Merry and Pippin came next, then Sam with the pony, Bill.

"Aragorn, I don't suppose you saw another girl fall into the water, did you?" she asked, worriedly.

"No, why?"

"My best friend was pushed off too… Iana… I just hope she's okay, wherever she is…"

I don't like to blackmail, but if I don't get even ONE review, this story will have to be discontinued, and Silver won't like that; please save me...

Iana XxX...


	4. Chapter 4

People like me! runs around screaming happily Well, just for you lot, here's the next chapter. By the way; the main characters are not, and I repeat **_NOT_** Mary-sue's. These girls have been dropped into Middle-Earth, but they have 'connections' there. Yes, they can do lots of things like riding and stuff, but only because they had lessons in this world.

Now that's cleared up, dum, dum, DUM! the next chapter...

Éomer POV

We were approaching the River Isen on our journey back to Edoras from a patrol duty. The company of 30 guards was now dwindled down to 26 due to an unfortunate meeting with a party of Orcs. My cousin Théodred was sporting a bandage around the top of his right arm; a couple of other guards were tied onto their horses and being supported by friends. Suddenly, the scouts came galloping back; they had obviously spotted something that they couldn't deal with by themselves. Théodred held up his spear to halt the rest of the group as the scouts stopped.

"What is it?" I asked, wondering what it was that had scared them so.

"A hole… in the… sky!" one of them gasped. I frowned and turned to Théodred; he nodded.

"Come…" he cried to the company. I urged my horse on, the scouts showing the way. The Fords of Isen were before us. I looked up to catch the 'hole' closing up; I looked back down and scanned the river. The hole must have appeared for some reason…

"There my Lord!" one of the scouts pointed to something lying on a small mound in the middle of the river, "It fell through just as we were coming back to report…" Théodred handed his spear to a soldier and dismounted, cautiously walking forward. I followed suit, signalling the rest of the company to stay put. As I neared I saw that the 'something' was a person; a woman to be exact, with long, dark brown hair and creamy pale skin. She had a slight figure and was wearing strange clothes; she was unconscious. A bag lay next to her, and like her clothes, it was strange. She had thick black lines around her eyes and black on her lips, giving her a sort of dark, deathly look. Her ears were decorated with numerous objects. I looked down at her in amazement; I felt she wasn't something to be afraid of, but she was so strange. In fact, she reminded me of someone, but I couldn't quite remember who. I knelt beside her and checked her pulse carefully, then noticed the long, wide cut on the left side of her face that was bleeding freely. She was still alive and I could feel her breath on my hand; Théodred was just staring at her. He looked up at me, his mouth open in shock.

"She reminds me of my mother… She looks exactly like her…" Théodred's eyes had lit up; he stared at me, "Éomer… You don't think… Iana's come back… do you? You don't think she's my sister do you…? She looks like Mother so much," he breathed. I looked down at the woman… She did look like Théodred's dead mother, Elfhild. Could it be Iana? Had she returned to us after so long? I thought she had been captured by the agents of the Dark Lord, along with an Elven girl. Nothing had been heard of either since…

"What shall we do?" I asked. After all, she may not be Iana.

"Take her back to Edoras with us, I suppose. We can't leave her out here, alone, even if she isn't Iana," he told me. I nodded, grabbed the bag lying on the ground and passed it to him, which he threw to a Guard. I took one of the woman's arms, pulling her up, Théodred took the other and we stood her up. We carefully carried her over to Théodred's horse, Brego, who stood as still as a rock as we swung the woman onto him; Théodred climbed on behind her. I mounted my horse, Firefoot, took my spear back and settled myself for a long ride; I glanced over to Théodred and was suddenly struck by the similarity between him and the woman. Surely there was a good chance that this was Iana… Suddenly, the woman spoke;

"…bastards…." She muttered, her head falling backwards onto Théodred's shoulder. I raised my eyebrows at Théodred, who shrugged his shoulders, causing the woman's head to fall forwards again. I smiled and shook my head in amazement; I'd never heard a woman swear before…

"Ready?" I asked Théodred, who nodded. I held my spear aloft and called the party to order. They formed a line and rode off in the direction of Edoras…

Iana POV

"Ohhh… I'm going to kill those pricks!" I groaned as I came around, my head pounding fiercely. I could hear noise… It sounded strangely like hooves… and armour… I opened my eyes slightly; all I could see was blurred dark shapes. I opened them fully and discovered that it was horses I could hear, and armour; lots of it… I was riding a chestnut, almost brown, horse; I looked down and spotted a strong arm curled tightly around my waist. I gulped and turned slowly to see who it belonged to. I found a light brown haired, blue eyed man sitting behind me. His eyes locked on mine and widened in surprise.

"Who are you?" I asked quietly. The man didn't answer me, but looked over my head at someone else; I whirled around and saw another man on a dark brown horse, and this one had blonde hair and blue eyes. Suddenly, something in my brain clicked together. Two men on horseback, leading a troop of horsemen; spears and a green flag with a white horse rearing… I realised where I was, but it wasn't possible… was it? My breathing became shallower as I struggled to stay conscious. It started going black in front of my eyes; I saw the blonde haired man riding towards us and fainted.

Thank you to the people who reviewed; hugs to all!

Iana XxX


	5. Chapter 5

All right! People are actually getting into this story; Silver and I are well made up! We work hard on our stories, and when people review to tell us to update, you can imagine how happy we are!

Special thank you to Evendim, who has taken time out of her busy schedule to actually read my story, and lets me know what she thinks of it; lots of hugs!

Thank you to Just Me as well; I don't know who you are and I don't need to. That you read and like my work is enough! Hugs for you too!

Silver POV

"Silver… do you have anymore of that chocolate stuff?" Pippin asked me slowly. I nodded, not realising his motive. He moved nearer to me, in fact, so did Sam and Merry. I looked at them suspiciously… With a hungry girl like Iana around, you got to know all the tricks to get food. I pretended not to notice them, but moved away from them a little. They followed. Aragorn noticed and looked amused. He looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back at him.

"Are you hungry, Aragorn?" I asked him. He grinned wider as the Hobbits looked up eagerly. He didn't answer. I saw Sam's hand reaching for my bag. I swung it slightly, and it knocked him over the head, he scowled. I saw Pippin reaching for it this time and moved away from him. Then Merry appeared next to me, smiling up at me sweetly. God! It was dangerous having chocolate around Hobbits. I darted away from him and the three of them quickly followed me; Aragorn laughed out loud.

"Run Silver! Run! Save yourself!" he cried; I laughed too, and sped up, the Hobbits still following. They must be hungry… I moved into a run and sped off between the trees. I heard the Hobbits and Aragorn pick up speed behind me too, Pippin now sniggering with Aragorn. I turned to see where they were and ran into something hard… soft… Well, something hard _wearing_ something soft; I stumbled and almost fell, but strong arms caught me before it could happen. I looked up and came face-to-face with a blonde haired, blue eyed Elf! I screamed out loud; he was staring at me in speechless amazement.

"Silver! Silver, are you alright?" Aragorn yelled, bursting into the clearing, his sword drawn; he sighed and sheathed it again when he saw who I was with, "It's alright. This is Glorfindel…"

The Elf still had hold of me, and his grip was tight, almost as if he was afraid I would disappear if he let go. I stared at him just as much as he stared at me… Glorfindel? An Elf from Rivendell…

"Silver… Silver…?" he whispered, scanning my face with his clear eyes. He then looked up at Aragorn, still not letting go of me. "How can this be…? Silver was taken… Aragorn! Why have you not informed Elrond?" he cried angrily.

"I only met her a few hours ago… Glorfindel. Look at her ears! She is human! She can't be the same Silver!" Aragorn told him desperately; Glorfindel's eyes went back to my face.

"But she is the spitting image of Celebrian! Aragorn… She has the same face, same hair… Yet her eyes are Elrond's," he cried. I just wanted him to let go of me; this crazy Elf was starting to get on my nerves.

"Glorfindel? Glorfindel! Let go of her! You're scaring her!" Aragorn told him forcefully, and moved to stand next to me. Glorfindel looked at the floor and released me. I moved away quickly, to stand slightly behind Aragorn; the Hobbits were staring at the crazy Elf.

"Of course, I'm sorry I was so rude… Silver…" he said flatly, looking up at me when he said my name.

"Can she come to Rivendell with us…? She doesn't really know what she's doing here," Aragorn asked; I was just watching Glorfindel carefully. He seemed to think about this for a long time.

"I expect Gandalf could shed some light on this… coincidence… She had better come," he said at last. "But I warn you, Elrond's behaviour will change dramatically when he sees her; he will act even stranger than I did."

"Is that possible?" I asked under my breath; I think Aragorn heard me though, because he gave me a warning look. He then turned back to Glorfindel.

"Do you have the horses?" he asked pointedly; Glorfindel was still staring at me though. I wondered what he had meant when he had started raving about me looking like Celebrian… Glorfindel nodded and gave a shrill whistle. At once two large horses and four small ponies trotted into the clearing, surveying us all with calm eyes. Glorfindel moved over to the large pure white horse, which somehow I knew was Asfaloth. He patted its neck but the horse's wise eyes stayed on me, as if he knew me. Asfaloth then nodded his huge, noble white head and trotted over to me. At first I was quite frightened at this huge noble creature that was heading straight for me, but I noticed his eyes again… they told me not to be afraid. He stopped right in front of me, and stood there calmly, then seemed to bow his head to me slightly. Now there was a crazy horse! Aragorn, Glorfindel and the Hobbits waited in confused amazement to see what I would do. I reached out, and stroked the horse's head, and smoothed down its mane on its neck.

At once instinct took over and I put my arms around its neck, muttering words I had never even heard before. Asfaloth nuzzled into my shoulder friendlily. Memories came flooding back to me… I was 6, and I was riding a white horse like this one, but it was a female, called Rianca, and her foal was frolicking nearby… a young white male… a young Asfaloth. I released the horse quickly and backed off. What? That memory wasn't real… The first time I had a riding lesson was when I was 7, and I had picked it up quicker than anyone else in the class apart from Iana; in fact, we both got awards for picking it up so fast… This horse seemed to know me… but it couldn't have known me… I'm so confused.

I backed further away. I had to get out of here… sort out my own thoughts and memories… I looked at them all… The Hobbits looked confused and frightened, Asfaloth looked understanding and patient, Glorfindel looked astounded and Aragorn looked concerned… He stepped towards me, looking very worried.

"Silver… What's the matter…? You've gone terribly white… Why didn't you tell me you knew Elvish…? What's the matter…?" he questioned gently, reaching out to me, but I backed away from him too. He looked so soft and secure… I couldn't risk getting too close to him in the state I was in. Glorfindel looked at me knowingly.

"Silver used to ride Asfaloth's mother… Rianca… Asfaloth grew up with Silver…" he said softly.

"I don't know Elvish… Asfaloth…What's going on?" I asked, my head swimming with strange memories, feelings telling me that this was real, but my recent memories were telling me that this was all just a dream. I shook my head, trying to get it all straight.

"You are Silver… Asfaloth knows your smell, knows your look, knows your feelings… he wouldn't make a mistake…" Glorfindel told me, stepping closer. "Silver… you are human… But you _are_ our Silver… Our little Numellótë…"

That name he called me _Numellótë_, brought back so many memories… Swimming with twins with dark brown hair, sitting beside an older Elf with dark brown hair, riding with a young Glorfindel… what was going on?

"I can't be… my family… my brothers… a lie?" I whispered, "No! I am not your Numellótë!"

I backed off further; Glorfindel followed quickly, and grabbed my arm. He looked straight into my eyes, his so wise and knowing.

"You're remembering… Numellótë… remember them… remember me. We were the best of friends once, me 13, you 6. We have never forgotten you… just please don't forget us. Your Father misses you terribly… Silver, come back to us…" he pleaded. He was talking to something deep within me, which was growing and taking over me. I collapsed to the floor as more memories came flooding back to me, flashing through my mind quickly, I couldn't see because of them, I couldn't hear anything besides them, all my feelings at those times came back to me, hitting me hard. Glorfindel… his face was familiar now, Glorfindel… I had grown up with him. He had looked after me, almost like an older brother. I had a headache now, one that was pounding and red hot. Something was hurting my ears, a dull, annoying pain at first, but then a stinging, sharp pain. I moaned in agony. This thing taking over me was making my body feel lighter, relieving my stiff limbs, making my eyesight clearer and my hearing sharper.

Then it was over. It stopped. I was just left there, shaking and sobbing softly on the floor. Aragorn swiftly came to me and helped me to my feet. He looked me over, asking me what was wrong. He suddenly stopped when he caught sight of my ears. His eyes widened.

"You are an Elf…" he said in amazement; Glorfindel stepped forwards, smiling.

"Silver… you are back with us…" he said happily.

"Don't get your hopes up yet… I don't know who I am anymore. Please, just take me to Rivendell. So I can find out who I am… what I am… I'm just so confused," I told him flatly, wiping away the tears; he nodded slowly.

"You can ride with me," Aragorn offered gently; I nodded. I didn't want to ride with Glorfindel; I was confused enough already. I mounted his large chestnut horse, with no help from him, and he looked surprised, but said nothing. He mounted and sat close behind me. The Hobbits mounted their little ponies, and Glorfindel gracefully jumped up onto Asfaloth. He silently urged his horse into a walk and moved off into the forest. The Hobbits followed him straight away, and then Aragorn fell in line behind them. As the horse began to move I felt his arm encircle my waist and I got a lurch in the pit of my stomach, and it wasn't at all unpleasant. There was just something warm and secure about being in the circle of his arms. I sighed slightly. How was I going to make sense of this predicament?

"Are you alright?" Aragorn asked me softly; I felt his warm breath on my now very sensitive ear. It tingled slightly.

"I'm confused and weary, Aragorn." I explained, "If these memories coming back to me now are real, that means the last few years of my life has been spent living a lie. If they aren't, why are they coming back to me, and why am I here?"

"Mmm…" he hummed thoughtfully, "You'll be okay though, whatever the outcome. We shall do all we can for you," he reassured me kindly.

"Thank you, Aragorn… You're really kind, and nice… I just don't know what to do. What if I can never get back to my family… the one I have spent these last few years with? What if I never see them again, my brothers, my parents, my grandparents…? What about Iana…? What if she's here too, just not found yet, just lying somewhere dying?" I conveyed, biting back tears. He moved his hand so it rested on my arm; I was surprised at how aware I was of it there, warm and reassuring. Every nerve in my body seemed aware of it… it sent a spark through my body.

"Stop thinking 'what ifs'; it will just make you upset. Just focus on what you know. I'll look out for you," he told me gently; I had to choke back tears.

"I hardly know you, but you're promising to look out for me… How do you know I won't throw it back in your face? How do you know you won't regret picking me up?" I asked, taken aback by his kindness.

"I don't… I trust you strangely enough… I hope you are nice anyway," he said with a slight laugh.

"I'll be nice to you, Aragorn, because you're nice to me,"

This chapter was all the work of my best friend Silver, and any reviews you send I will immediately show to her, barring any _icky_ college work we have first!

Iana XxX


	6. Chapter 6

People are making me update this much faster than I was planning on doing! But I'm happy; it means people like me!

To Turok1: As you should already know from reading the other chapters, this story is a collaboration of mine and my friend Silver's ideas. Neither of us like it when people seem to randomly fall into Middle-Earth for no reason, end up completing the War of the Ring and stay there with nothing to do. So we decided to do something different. Iana and Silver were originally from Middle-Earth, but were seen as a threat to the Dark Lord - who was regaining his strength - and so were captured and supposedly disposed of. But they were sent to our world, and now Middle-Earth is in danger, the magic that sent them into our world reverses and they end up going back to help. They are NOT Mary-sue's (as I cannot stand the things), but they will help in the War of the Ring as best they can. And because they originate from Middle-Earth, they have a ligitimate reason for staying! (It took Silver and I a while to sort out all of the ideas so that they'd fit!)

To Evendim: Silver is pleased that you like her work, and the line from the start of that last chapter was a dig at me! I'm a serious chocoholic, and sometimes Silver has to rein me in!

Anyway, hope you like this chapter, it explains a bit more.

Iana POV

I regained consciousness just as the horse I was riding passed through a large wooden gate. It took a couple of seconds for my eyes to refocus, but once they did, an astonishing sight greeted them. The blonde-haired man was riding his dark brown horse in front of the one I was on. I turned to look at what we were passing. People were standing at the side of the street, staring at me, not even trying to hide their curious glances. Children had stopped their playing to watch the procession; perhaps some of their older brothers or Fathers riding towards the top of the hill. I glanced ahead to see a magnificent building before us, and somehow I realised that I knew this place… The horse heads above the giant double doors were strangely familiar, as was the large sunburst pattern upon them. There was someone standing near the doors, a woman dressed in a flowing green dress, with long, flowing blonde hair.

The horses stopped at the steps leading up to the hall. Somehow, I knew that this was the Golden Hall; that I was in the city of Edoras, Rohan… In Middle-Earth… I shook my head, telling myself that it wasn't right. That even though I had been kidding myself for years that it was real… it wasn't… I started wondering if Karl had managed to knock me out and then slipped me something, possibly something that would induce hallucinations or freaky dreams… All thoughts were jolted out of me as the person sitting behind me dismounted. As the man's arm disappeared, I felt a strange sense of loss, as if the arm was supposed to be there… Suddenly, I realised the man was real, and that he was talking to me.

"Can you get down yourself?" he asked; I didn't answer. I was staring at him, a niggling feeling in the base of my neck, telling me that I knew this man; not a feeling of recognition, but a feeling of actually knowing him intimately in some way… The man frowned, before taking hold of me around my waist and lifting me down with his strong arms; the shock seemed to reawaken my senses. I looked up as I realised that the other blonde haired man had also dismounted and was standing next to me, while the woman in the green dress had hurried down the steps and now stood in front of me, having taken my bag from a guard. A cold shiver ran up my spine as I realised who they were.

"You…" I stammered, "You are-"

"-Théodred, son of King Théoden of Rohan," the man introduced himself, bowing regally.He couldn't have been more than 30 or so, but he looked so young… The other man looked around my age, maybe a couple of years older, and the woman looked ever so slightly younger than me.

"So you are… Éomer… and Éowyn?" I asked; the man and women looked at each other and nodded.

"How do you know our names?" Éomer asked, taking off his helmet and tucking it under his arm. I rubbed my face wearily, wondering how to explain it.

"Where I come from, there is a book… well, _books_, that tell me about you, about what happens and… I can't tell you any more until I speak with Gandalf, Mithrandir, whatever… or someone else who probably knows what is going on," I answered, stopping rubbing my face. Something felt wet; looking at my hands, I realised one of them was red, covered with blood… Éowyn gasped.

"We should have taken you inside straight away!" she cried, obviously horrified at the sight of the blood. "Quick! Come with me!" Théodred and Éomer signalled for someone to take their horses to the stables, before each taking one of my arms and helping me up the long stairs to the doors.

The doors were thrown wide open as we approached; I took notice of the in-laid floor patterns as I stepped inside the considerably darker hall. There was a throne at the far end of the chamber, but no one sitting on it. As I looked around, I met the gazes of the guards stationed around the walls; they stared at me with wide eyes, not blinking, turning to their companions and whispering. As we reached the middle of the hall, there was a question from one of the dark sides.

"Why have you brought a _stranger_ into the House of the King?" asked a hissing voice; Éowyn stopped abruptly. I could tell from her body language that she definitely didn't like this person…

"It is of no business to the King's _advisor_ what the King's _son_ does…" Théodred growled, glaring in the direction of the voice. King's advisor? I suddenly realised who it was as Grima Wormtongue stepped out of the shadows; he stared at me, indecision on his face.

"But it _is_ my business if a stranger is brought in…" Grima snarled, "After all… How am I to know she will not pose a threat to the King?" Éomer made a sudden movement as if to go and hit him, but Théodred used his free arm to grab Éomer's in front of me. I looked at Théodred's hand and Éomer's arm, noticing how strong they both were; if the men had to be this strong just to survive in this world, how did the women do it? Éomer narrowed his eyes and muttered something, as I quietly examined both of the men, judging whether or not I would be able to escape from their clutches…

"What was that Éomer?" asked a different voice from behind Grima, who - with a horrified expression on his face - quickly turned and bowed low.

"My Lord! I was just telling them-" He started to explain, but the voice cut him off.

"-I was not talking to you Grima…" it growled, and the owner of the voice stepped into the light, "What were you saying Éomer?" Éomer bowed to the person, dispersing my hopes of escaping.

"Nothing, my Lord," he answered, "I just didn't approve of the way Grima was debating the fact that Prince Théodred could bring a dangerous person to see you," I recognised King Théoden of Rohan… Then I realised that I might _just_ be in over my head…

Théoden walked slowly towards the place where Théodred and Éomer were still supporting me. I lowered my head so that my hair hung in front of my face; a long curtain that I could hide both my face and ears behind, just in case he found my earrings or make-up a bit weird. I saw the boots of the King stop just before me; I twitched as a hair got caught in the blood and irritated the cut on my face.

"Who is this?" he asked, "And what is she doing here?"

"We found her at the Fords of Isen, unconscious and injured," Éomer answered, "We brought her here for Éowyn to tend to," Théoden rubbed the bristles on his chin thoughtfully.

"But that does not explain who the woman is…" he said; Théodred looked at his cousin.

"She did not give us a name…" Théodred told his Father.

"But we have our suspicions…" Éomer pointed out quietly.

"And what suspicions are they?" he asked, surprised and obviously wanting an explanation; I looked up.

"Yeah… I'd like to know what they are too!" I exclaimed, tired of people talking about me but not to me. Startled at my sudden outburst, King Théoden looked at my face.

"Elfhild!" he cried.

Théoden POV

As soon as I looked at her face, I knew it. The shape, the eyes, the skin; all were identical to my late wife, Elfhild's. Though the make-up the woman was wearing hid her real features, the eyes, pale skin and long brown hair gave her away.

"Elfhild?" I asked, "Can it be you?" The woman shook her head.

"My name is not Elfhild…" she answered, her eyes paling rapidly to an ice blue, "Though the name sounds familiar…" I tried to calm myself down, tried to think rationally, though the disappointment welling up inside me was fit to burst.

"No, of course not. You cannot be Elfhild; she lies buried outside the city walls…" I sighed, strode over to the end of the hall and sat down upon my throne. I beckoned for Éomer, Théodred, Éowyn and the woman to come forward, and dismissed Grima; Éowyn came first.

"My Lord, she is injured… I need to-" she began; I nodded.

"Go and fetch what you need and bring it back." I told Éowyn, she hurried off. By the look of it, the woman's legs were starting to weaken; it must have been almost 24 hours since she had had something to eat. I signalled a guard to bring some food.

Just as Théodred and Éomer brought the woman before the throne, her legs gave way and she collapsed to the floor and Théodred immediately bent down to help her. Éowyn reappeared with a bowl of hot water and cloths with which to clean the woman's wound; Théodred sat behind her, pulled the woman up and leant her against his chest for support as Éowyn began to soak a cloth in the water. He brushed the woman's hair away from her face, and we could see a long, deep cut running down the side of her face. Éowyn drew her breath sharply, before beginning to clean the cut; the woman grimaced in pain but didn't say anything. I wondered where she came from… I was sure I had seen her before, but where? She couldn't have come from Gondor because she would bear arms, but she didn't carry anything that proved that she came from Rohan either. She didn't have the pointy ears to prove that she was an Elf, and I knew she wasn't a Dwarf for obvious reasons… But she did look exactly like Elfhild, and probably what my young daughter would have looked like, had she lived.

Ah, Iana; it was a terrible day for Rohan when she was taken by the Dark Lord. She was only 6 at the time, travelling with her mother and her friends; the Elf Lady Celebrian and her daughter Silver. Silver was the same age as Iana then, with her mother's exceptionally beautiful hair; the like of which has never yet been discovered in Middle-Earth again … The two girls had gotten on so well for children from different races; neither I nor Silver's father, Lord Elrond, had protested against their friendship, and it did well for Rohan to have allies outside of the human race; especially the Elves.

Théodred had been devastated when we had discovered the tragedy that had befallen our family; he hadn't eaten for days afterwards, which was dangerous for a growing 13 year old boy. Finally, the despair of an 8 year old Éomer and a 5 year old Éowyn brought him back, and he eventually spent most of his time learning to be a warrior. Of course, having trained for 18 years, he was now quite a formidable man to face, in or out of battle. Théodred was 31 now, which would have made Iana 24 I think… Yes, that's right; Éomer is 26, and Éowyn is 23 now…

The guard returned carrying food just then, as Éowyn finished cleaning the woman's cut. I took the tray from the guard and laid it on a small table next to the throne, dismissing the rest of the guards from the hall.

"Now; do you want anything to eat?" I asked the woman quietly once the soldiers had left. She looked at the food, torn between hunger and caution. I smiled, and handed her an apple. She looked at it apprehensively, unsure of whether to eat it or leave it alone, "Go on; it's not poisoned!" I laughed. The woman grinned weakly, her eyes darkening almost to their normal colour; and then bit into the fruit, the sweet juices dribbling down her chin as she tried to catch them. I tossed apples to Théodred and Éomer, who bit into them gratefully. Once all three had finished eating, I leant towards the woman.

"Now, what is your name?" I asked; the woman stared at the floor, either unable or unwilling to tell. I sighed with frustration and stood up, about to start pacing, but she must have thought I was going to do something to her. She immediately got up and backed off hurriedly… But she had evidently forgotten that Théodred sat behind her. The woman fell backwards over him and hit her head on the floor; Théodred scrambled to her side and held it up. I rushed over and knelt by her other side.

"Are you okay?" Théodred asked; the woman looked at me, her eyes lightening to almost white as they slid out of focus.

"I… Iana… my name is Iana…" she gasped, before blacking out…

This part took me while to write; I ended up with writers block halfway through, and it might show in places!

Iana XxX


	7. Chapter 7

NOOOOOO! My characters CAN'T be Mary-sues! They just CAN'T! breaks down Oh well, I didn't do it on purpose, but if Iana and Silver are Mary-sues then so be it. If people don't like it, then don't read it; I'm not changing this story for anybody! Except maybe Silver, when she tells me off...

Aragorn POV

I heard Silver gasp as she looked down at Rivendell. Rivendell was in a steep valley with a river running through it. It was an incredibly beautiful city, all gold's and creams, with plants happily growing around it. Waterfalls and streams ran through it, and in the fading light of the evening it looked magical and mythical…

There was still quite a way to go. There was quite a steep path leading down to the Elven city, and Glorfindel led the way down it. I decided to dismount so I could lead the horse on the safest parts of the path. I wanted it to be as safe as possible for Silver. I didn't want to take any chances with her life. She watched me dismount and made to do the same.

"No, you stay there. It's okay, I'll lead the horse," I told her. She looked down at me, frowning slightly.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, you just sit tight for a bit," I reassured and concentrated on the path ahead. It was a slow journey down the path, but even when the path levelled I didn't mount the horse again. I felt I should be leading her horse instead of riding it with her.

The gates opened as we approached and as we walked through them even my ears caught the whispers of some of the Elf guards. I looked up at Silver; she looked worried and ashamed. My heart gave a painful tug to see her so unsure. I caught her eye and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Remember what I told you before…" I told her and she nodded grimly. She held her head up high and the breeze played with locks of her hair. Her skin looked so pale and her eyes held a mysterious spark. I stared at her. She did look like an Elven princess… noble and proud… and, I admitted to myself, beautiful. Whether she was Elrond's Silver or not… she did belong here.

All the Elves that were going about their daily business stopped what they were doing when they saw us. A few of the older ones even dropped things and called out to Silver, shouting the name 'Celebrian'. They began to follow us towards the main courtyard and many more Elves appeared and joined them, wondering at the commotion. The Hobbits looked around them, astounded. Silver looked at Glorfindel, who was watching her closely.

"Why are they following us?" she asked very quietly; Glorfindel looked around at the other Elves.

"Because their princess has come home…" he answered.

We entered the courtyard and the guards on the main doors stared at us, their mouths open; one of them dropped his spear with a clatter and ran inside.

A few seconds later he came running out of the door, accompanied by two twins, who stopped on the steps in shock, staring at the woman in the saddle of my horse. They both had long dark brown hair and brown eyes like Elrond… They were his twin sons; Silver's brothers…

I looked up at Silver. She was staring back at them, her mouth slightly agape. Then her eyes moved to look at something else. I followed her gaze; Lord Elrond had just walked through the doorway and was now standing there, watching her in amazement.

"Celebrian!" he breathed; Silver shook her head.

"No… My name is Silver," she answered quietly. There were many gasps from around the courtyard and Elrond stepped forwards, taking in every inch of her with his keen eyes.

"Silver…? My little Numellótë… Is it really you…?" he whispered; I saw tears in Silver's eyes and realised that she was just as pretty when she cried.

"Yes Father… It's me…" she choked; I wanted to brush the tears from her smooth cheeks, but I held myself back.

"Oh… little one…" Elrond sighed, opening his arms to welcome his daughter.

"Father!" Silver cried and jumped from the horse. She ran to him and was soon enveloped in his arms. I watched her body shake as it was wracked with sobs and longed to be the one holding her.

Théodred POV

Iana… so she was my sister! I knew it! I looked down at the unconscious young woman in my arms. She was so much like mother… I was carrying her to a room in my family's private quarters, where she could recover quietly. Father strode along beside me as he carried her bag, his face more animated than I had seen it in many years. Its expressions changed so often, from confusion, to happiness, to a slight sadness, and then, the expression that lasted the longest was the one of renewed hope that lit his face.

We entered a room, Iana's old bedroom, which had been empty for so long… But now she was back home, where she belonged. I laid her gently on the bed and as I was bent over her, looking down upon her face, it suddenly occurred to me that this woman was my own sister, flesh and blood, and a part of me that had been missing for years. My heart gave a tug and I reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. I looked up to see Father watching the both of us, a proud, fond smile on his face and in his eyes. His eyes moved down to my arm.

"You'll need Éowyn to see to that…" he remarked, concern in his eyes. I nodded but looked back down at Iana, still adjusting to the fact that she was back with us, after so long thinking her dead and gone. Something inside of me wanted to make sure that she would be safe forever, to make sure that no one would ever take her away from me again. The fury from my teenage years when she had disappeared was still there, and now that she was back, I wanted to make sure I had my revenge… I heard Father walk quietly out of the room, probably to fetch Éowyn. I knelt next to the bed and gently stroked Iana's hair, avoiding the cut on her face.

"I'll never let you go…" I whispered, wanting her to know that I loved her, "Never again …" Iana turned her face towards me slightly; I stood up again and looked at her. Sure she dressed weird, Éowyn should be able to help her there… but she still belonged here.

I bent down, kissed Iana on the forehead and turned to the door. I pulled the door to, but looked back before it closed fully. My heart leapt as I realised she was smiling in her sleep… She was back…

Hugs to everyone who reviewed! hugs all of 6 or so people I should post the next chapter soon, maybe on friday as I have so much spare time then.

Iana XxX


	8. Chapter 8

Whoa... Thank you _so_ much, Ravenswing14337; you're the third person to speak down to that stfu n00b and to tell me to write what I want. From now on, no flames at all please; they're nasty, evil and shouldn't be allowed. (For anyone wanting to know what this is about, look at the review from stfu n00b and then the one from Ravenswing14337, both on chapter one; if any of you readers out there have been ground into the dust by this 'stfu n00b', please let me know. We all have to stand together!)

I also want to thank Ithil-valon for reviewing all of the chapters on this story and telling me what she thought; Silver and I are made up that we're acknowledged by the 'big dogs' as Ravenwing14337 puts it!

Silver POV

My Father… Lord Elrond! I just couldn't seem to take it in. I stared at him from my place at his side. We were in his study, listening to Gandalf as he explained what had happened. Apparently, as a child, the forces of evil had captured me and another girl from Rohan and had transported us to another world, where we had lived the last 18 years of our lives. I was confused. How could this be true…? What about my brothers?

"That's why they never looked like me," I muttered; Gandalf stopped mid-sentence.

"What?"  
"My family, in the Other World didn't look like me… Now I know why…" I replied flatly; Father put his hand on my arm and squeezed it gently. I put my hand on his; it felt so right that he was my Father… I did belong here… more than I ever belonged in the Other World. Gandalf went to go on, explaining about spells that could have been used and stuff, but I interrupted again,

"You spoke of Rohan?"

"Yes, that's where the other girl is from," Gandalf said impatiently, frowning at me slightly with his big, bushy, eyebrows; I smiled smugly.

"Her name wouldn't be Iana, would it?" I asked mysteriously; Gandalf and Father gave a start at the same time and stared at me.

"How did you know that?"

"Iana was my best friend in the Other World… We both had a feeling of not belonging, and she was mad on horses. She would belong in Rohan, I know it…" I answered, still smiling; Gandalf eyed me closely, suspicious.

"You seem to remember quite a lot, Silver, of this world," he muttered; I grinned at him. "Who is King of Rohan at this time?" he questioned.

"King Théoden."

"Who is King of Gondor?"

"Gondor has no King at this time. It is governed by the Steward of Gondor, Denethor, and his two sons, Boromir and Faramir. Aragorn, son of Arathorn, is the true heir to the throne," I answered, throwing an apologetic look at Aragorn who was standing in the corner, watching, with a slightly amazed look on his face.

"How do you know all this…? Surely you cannot remember…?" Gandalf murmured; I reached into my bag and drew out a book, 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien. I threw it to him and he caught it.

"The Hobbit?" he asked, reading the cover.

"It is the tale of Bilbo Baggins' adventure to the Lonely Mountain with twelve dwarves and you, Gandalf. A man in my world wrote it, and it was enjoyed by millions around the world. He created this world in his mind, and opened it to us through books. A few years after he wrote this book, he was asked to write another. At first the main character was going to be Bilbo again, but then he decided on another character. He created a nephew for Bilbo, named Frodo Baggins. This story is much more serious than the last, filled with danger and evil. It is the story of courage shown by a tiny person in the face of a huge and powerful evil. It is the story of the One Ring… The Lord of the Rings…" I informed them. They all just stared at me, not saying anything. I turned to Aragorn. "That's how I knew what had happened to Frodo, how I knew who you were… That's why I was frightened of you at first… You're all the characters in my favourite story book," I told him, longing for him to understand… I needed him, above everyone else, to understand.

"But how… How did this man know…" he whispered; I felt Father's hand tighten on my arm.

"That means… you know the future…" he said quietly, almost as if he were afraid to say it.

Iana POV

A dull throbbing pain in my head woke me. I opened my eyes and waited for them to refocus before sitting up. I looked around at the room I was in; it had a large window that was open, letting in the summer air and sunshine. I sniffed all of the wonderful smells, delighted to be in Middle-Earth. I was in a large double bed with warm, cream covers, and wolf skins draped over it. Grinning uncontrollably, I stood up and looked at myself. My jeans were wrecked; mud was splattered everywhere and clung to them. My top was in a slightly better condition, with only a few small splats of dirt on it. I shook my head, looked around for my bag and found it on a table on the other side of the room. As I strode over to it, I passed the window; I stopped and looked out of it, marvelling at the sight.

Mountains were visible in the distance; grassy, rocky plains stretched from their foot all around the city. As I watched, people were bustling away in the city, unaware of my gaze. Horses were being ridden around by soldiers, animals roamed around on their own, children ran after them giggling. I couldn't believe it; I was actually stood in the capital of Rohan … I was in a story…

I shook my head again to clear it, before carrying on to my bag. I took it to the bed and unzipped it to check that no water had gotten through the material. As soon as I was sure it hadn't, I sorted through my clothes for something clean to wear. I picked up a black top with the words 'Don't ps me off, I'm running out of places to hide the bodies…' across the front in white. I smiled as I remembered how the top had frightened people away from me for weeks… I looked around and spotted a pair of dark grey jeans lying next to my pile of books. I picked them up and changed hurriedly; I had no idea whether people around here knocked before entering…

I put on a necklace with a small silver swirl and amethyst stones, before rediscovering my boots at the side of the bed. As I sat down to put them on, I noticed a small painting hung on the wall. I quickly laced and strapped the boots up and jumped up to look at the painting. It was a small girl, standing next to what looked like a light grey mare and a very young black colt. I looked at the background, trying to tell where it was. As first I couldn't find anything remotely familiar, but then I noticed a very small city at the back. I squinted at it, then realised I was looking at Edoras from the outside. I smiled and winced as it stretched the cut on my face; touching it carefully, it seemed to have begun healing. I silently thanked Éowyn for cleaning it before infection could set; I just hoped it wouldn't leave a scar…

I turned back to the mystery of the girl and horse; who were they? Why were they in this room? I scratched my head, and then discovered my hair needed brushing. I found a brush in my bag, and then stood looking at the painting as I brushed. I almost kicked myself as I remembered that the artist usually put their name in a corner of the picture. I threw the brush back into the bag then took the picture down, looking at the corners; nothing. Then an idea hit me and I turned the painting over. There, in black ink, was both the artist's name and the title of the picture. My suddenly shaking hands almost dropped the picture as the words penetrated a fog that seemed to lie over my mind, as if someone had deliberately decided which memories I could and couldn't remember. There, in front of me, was my name on the back of the painting: 'Iana, 6, Florian and Naiad, Théoden,' I couldn't believe it… How did Théoden know me?

My whole body started shaking uncontrollably, and I hung the picture back up. I repacked my bag and shoved it underneath the bed. Noticing my black cardigan hung over a chair, I grabbed it and threw it on, trying to believe that I would stop shivering if I got warm. Compared to my other clothes, the cardigan was inexplicably clean; I shrugged and opened the door out of the room. Nobody was around, so I stepped out and closed the door. Suddenly, a feeling of déja-vu swept over me; as if I had done this before. I shook it off and started walking along the corridor. The fog in my head was swirling around, trying to make me understand something, something important, whilst the pounding in my head grew worse with each step.

At the end of the corridor there was a small set of steps, I stopped there and looked out. They led to back to the throne room, where King Théoden, Théodred, Éomer and Éowyn were sitting on benches at a small table together, no guards in sight. I gulped, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, the pain in my head seemed to explode. I cried out and clutched my head, desperately trying not to let the group in the room know I was there.

The idea for this pain in the head came from a massive head-ache that I got after reading 'The Two Towers' into the small hours of the night with only a small light for company; take note, DON'T DO IT!

Hugs!

Iana XxX


	9. Chapter 9

GAH! Sorry for the late update; this is the third day on the run where I've forgotten to bring my USB stick into college, so I couldn't update. NOTE: I will **_NEVER_** hold back the updates to get more reviews, I don't believe in blackmailing my readers; it's unfair to expect people to spend time reviewing when they could be reading mine or other people stories! - !

Théodred POV

"So it's definitely her?" Éomer asked, turning to Father. He nodded, smiling with pride; I grinned, knowing that I was just as excited as him. Éowyn chuckled; I turned to her.

"What?" I asked; she just smiled happily.

"Now I have another girl to talk to," she replied, clearly imagining everything her and Iana would do together. Suddenly, there was a cry of pain from the stairway to the private quarters. We turned, Éomer and me jumping up in surprise, hands on sword hilts. Iana was stood there dressed in another pair of weird grey trousers, a black top and the cardigan she was wearing when we found her. But she was clutching her head in pain, writhing as if to fight it off. She stumbled backwards into the corridor, then took a step forward and fell down the stairs.

I ran over to her immediately, already looking for any injuries. She was still writhing around, apparently unaware of her tumble. I lifted her onto my knees and cradled her head, trying to ease the pain. I touched the healing cut that ran down the side of her face, but pulled my hand back; it was burning hot… Then the pain stopped, just as abruptly as it had started. She was gasping for breath and shaking. As I pushed her hair away from her face, her eyes opened and paled to almost white as she focused on my face. She bit her lip, knelt and faced me. She cocked her head, staring at my face, almost as if she was trying to discern something from it.

"You're my… my brother…" she whispered; my eyes widened in shock. I didn't expect her to remember this! But then I realised that the Dark Lord must have either erased her memories, or made it so she couldn't remember them. The pain she had experienced must have been the spell breaking slightly, if not fully. I nodded slowly; Iana bit her lip again, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. She raised a hand and touched my face, gently stroking my cheek. She moved it to touch my hair, running it through her fingers. She sniffed, looking at the floor and letting her hand fall back down to her lap.

"You look like me;" she whispered again, "My brother in the Other World didn't…" A couple more tears fell from her eyes, "It was all a lie… my whole family a lie," she sniffed again; I frowned.

"We're not…" I told her, upset for her. Iana looked at me; her eyes met mine, darkening to their normal colour. Slowly, the corners of her mouth tilted upwards. I carefully brushed her tears away and stroked the side of her face; "This is where you belong," The smile grew slightly bigger. Suddenly, I couldn't hold myself back anymore; I reached forward and pulled her towards me. I held her close to me, wrapping my arms around her. She put her arms around my neck and buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing with happiness. Father appeared in front of me, eager to see his returned daughter properly. I let go of Iana, she looked at me again, and then turned to face him.

"Father?" she asked in a hoarse whisper; He nodded slowly, crying with elation. Iana gave a squeal and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Father started sobbing uncontrollably, holding Iana as if he thought she would disappear if he let go. I looked over to see Éomer and Éowyn standing next to each other; Éowyn was crying silently. I smiled at them; our family was whole again…

"What do you remember?" Father asked; Iana didn't let go of his neck, but turned her head so she could speak.

"Not much," she murmured as Father stroked her long brown hair, "Only small facts; like I have a wonderful Father, Théodred is my brother, Éomer and Éowyn are my cousins; the general state of Middle-Earth and who rules where…" Father nodded.

"You should remember all of it soon," he told her, "You may have to do certain things to unlock other parts of your memory; or should we get Gandalf Stormcrow here to try?" Iana nodded enthusiastically; Father beckoned for one of the guards that had entered when Iana's cry had been heard to send a message; he hurried off immediately.

"How did you get here?" I asked Iana; she turned out of Father's embrace and faced me, her eyes thoughtful.

"I remember walking over the bridge with my friend, Silver," she replied, looking at the ceiling as she tried to recall the memory, "And then a group of men came over and started annoying us. One of them asked Silver if she would go out with him," Iana started giggling, "She said that even a pig looked more attractive than him!" Everyone laughed at the thought.

"What happened then?" Father wanted to know; Iana grimaced and looked back down.

"The men got violent," she murmured, "And they pushed us off the side of the bridge; I did manage to scratch the face of one of them before I went over though…" she added as an afterthought; I, Father and Éomer's faces all contorted in fury.

"A man should never touch a woman in anger!" Éomer growled, clutching his sword hilt as if the men were right here.

"But that doesn't matter anymore," Iana laughed, breaking the tension in the room, "Because they sent me home by accident, and I'm glad they did!" Éomer and Éowyn knelt next to us and we all embraced, happy to be together.

Silver POV

I was in my room, sorting out my belongings from my bag into the drawers and wardrobe provided. It felt a little weird, putting my old belongings into my new life, as if I was letting go... I reached inside my bag and I pulled out something hard, almost book-like. I gulped when I saw it. It was my photo album… I'd forgotten it was in there. I trembled as I looked at it. I wasn't ready to go through it yet. I hurriedly shoved it into a draw and sat down on the bed, panting. I had been here two days now, and I still couldn't get over the beauty of this place. Everything was made so skilfully, with such care and devotion; you could see it in the walls, the chairs, the bridges, even the trees seemed to stand absolutely perfectly, and the birds seemed to sing every time you wanted them to.

A knock at the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I got up, slowed my breathing and went to answer it. It was the Hobbits. I cheered up just looking at them standing at the door with big grins on their faces.

"Morning Lady Silver, how are you today?" Merry asked charmingly, nodding his head at me politely. I grinned and nodded my head back.

"Fine, thank you, Mr Brandybuck, and you?" I replied, just as polite. He grinned wider and relaxed more.

"Totally bored, to be quite honest, Silver," he told me. The other Hobbits nodded their agreement.

"Yeah, they've stopped serving breakfast now; there's nothing to do until lunch," Pippin said dismally; Hobbits really do think about food all the time…

"Nothing? I bet you clever Hobbits can think of something you could do," I said with a disarming smile. They all stood there, thinking.

"Well we could go to watch some of the Elves in the practice fields. They have archery, fencing and hand-to-hand combat; Aragorn said he was going there," Frodo suggested; the Hobbits had introduced me to him the other day; he seemed okay, but very serious, unlike Merry and Pippin. Aragorn… I hadn't seen him for a while, and I still needed to thank him for bringing me here…

"Okay, maybe I'll learn something."

Phew... I'm busy writing a new story, where Faramir take Boromir's place in the Fellowship. I don't know if it's going to work, but it's worth a try isn't it?

Hugs to all! \m/ - - \m/

Iana XxX


	10. Chapter 10

This story just keeps on rolling doesn't it? Its a good thing I have chapters in reserve as I haven't had time to write any more of this yet, what with a friendship going down the plughole and college taking up so much of my time...

Hope and love: You just love every chapter, don't ya? And I love you for loving it!

Riki: So glad I can alleviate your boredom once in a while!

Duvet: MWAH!!! You made my day, and considering I have a chemistry test today, that's great!

Iana POV

I was taken for a tour of Edoras, so I would hopefully get to know my way around… I was lost after ten minutes… One place I did remember though was the fighting grounds; mainly because there were lots of cool and lethal looking weapons hanging around. Once I stepped into the weapons room, I knew I was home…

Théodred and Éomer were looking at the racks of swords on the walls, though Théodred had already brought a sword out with him; he didn't make any move to attach it to his belt, as he already had one strapped there… What was going on? Father watched the guards practising outside in the courts whilst Éowyn and I were admiring the well-crafted spears that hung near the back of the room. Éowyn took a spear from the wall and held it with two hands, testing the balance and weight.

"No… not my type…" she sighed; I giggled and she looked at me, "What?" I shook my head.

"Nothing…" I tried to keep a straight face, "It's just, in the Other World, women used to say that about something different…" Éowyn looked interested.

"What?" I glanced at Théodred and Éomer to check they weren't listening.

"Men…" I whispered; Éowyn looked shocked, and I started laughing at her face. I found that I could enjoy laughing now, as the cut on the side of my face was healing quickly. Father had said that it probably would leave a scar, but we should be thankful that a gash was the only thing that had happened to me as I had transferred worlds. Éowyn put the spear back, found I was still laughing and joined in with me. Théodred and Éomer turned to look at us; I controlled my laughter and gave Éowyn a nudge. She stopped giggling, but a shadow of a smile still played on the edges of her mouth. Éomer was staring at me in amazement over Théodred's shoulder, as if he couldn't believe how well Éowyn and I were getting along already. Théodred held the long sword that he had brought out in his hands.

"Come and have a go," he laughed, "Let's see how well you do," I gave a short laugh, thinking he was joking. When he raised an eyebrow at me, the smile fell from my face, replaced by a look of sheer disbelief.

"W-who… m-me?" I stammered, wondering when Théodred could possibly have hit his head on something when I wasn't looking… I turned to look at Éowyn, who shrugged her shoulders, then to Éomer, who smiled and nodded. "You can't be serious…" Éowyn sighed and then started pushing me in the small of my back, towards the door to the practice grounds. I couldn't struggle; I was too confused. How did Théodred expect me – who, you have to remember, has been missing for almost 14 years - to be able to fight a fully-grown warrior within two days of returning home? I'm pretty sure he had concussion or something…

Éomer joined in the 'Send The New Girl To Her Death' walk/push with Éowyn… 'What is this?' I thought, frightened out of my wits, 'Conspire against the Princess? Oh… I'd forgotten about that bit… But never mind that… TREASON!' I wanted to scream for them to get off me, but then I remembered where I was; it wouldn't be very seemly for a Princess to scream in front of the guards…

I allowed myself to be pushed into a practice court with small bar fences separating it from the others, archery targets at the further end and obvious chips in the wooden fence from some particularly vicious practice duels. I gulped as Father appeared from a different court, where he had been observing some of his own guards. He probably expected me to be some sort of expert at sword fighting, when actually I'd never done it before! I didn't want to embarrass him in front of the guards that had now gathered; whether they actually wanted to see me fight, or whether they wanted a good laugh, I didn't know…

"Here you go," Théodred handed me the sword that he had brought with him; I took it without thinking, hopping lightly over the fence into the court. Automatically, it seemed, I pulled the sword out of the sheath and looked at the blade, as Théodred climbed the fence. It was feather light and must have been made of mithril, kept clean and polished. There were fine engravings running up the middle of the blade where it was flat; miniature horses galloping across the plains in a fair wind, their manes and tails flying behind them. I smiled; it was typical of a Rohirric sword to depict horses…

"I'll take that for you," Éowyn offered, holding her hand out for the sword's sheath. I smiled and passed it to her, taking note of the looks on the faces of the guards that were now clustered around the fence. Some wore looks of amusement, others had looks of expectation, and others didn't seem that bothered. I grimaced, before stabbing the sword into the ground as I pulled a bobble out of my pocket, and quickly tied my hair back in a high ponytail, taking care near the cut; I didn't want it blowing about in my way. Théodred smiled and beckoned me into the middle of the court; I took hold of the sword and walked forward. Without warning, Théodred leapt towards me and swung his sword down towards my head. Quick as a flash, my arms brought the sword up to meet his in a clash of ringing steel. I didn't know how it got there; it just… did… Théodred looked pleased.

"Well done," he conceded, backing off, "Now try and block this…" He came running at me, his sword brought back under. As soon as he got closer to me, he swung the sword out and up towards my chin. Again, my arms took over; they swung the sword down, trapping Théodred's sword between it and the ground. Théodred almost fell forward before he realised. I raised my eyebrows in amazement as I tried to pull the sword out of the ground, but it was stuck fast. Théodred, having recovered himself, grinned and ran at me again, sword raised. My mouth dropped open; was he meant to attack me when I was disarmed?

I forgot about thinking as I realised that Théodred was almost on top of me. Instead, my body took over again, making me drop to the floor as he flew over me, rolling and standing up behind him. I shook myself to get rid of the dust, pushing bits of hair out of my face that had escaped from my bobble.

"Well done Iana!" Éowyn called from the fence. As I turned to smile at her to thank her for the compliment, I noticed the amazed looks on the guard's faces, Father and Éomer's. I gave my sword a hefty yank and pulled it out of the ground. Suddenly, I got a niggling feeling at the back of my neck, as if something was coming… My ears picked up the sound of someone running towards me. Then it clicked. At the last possible moment, I crouched, jumped and performed a back flip, my sword catching Théodred's forehead, creating a hairline cut along the edge of his scalp. I landed behind him as he slid to a stop, staring at me over his shoulder.

"How the hell…?" Théodred muttered, turning around, lifting a hand to feel the cut on his forehead; it wasn't even bleeding it was that fine. I smiled apologetically.

"I've always had an innate sense of when something's going to happen," I told him, and then moved into the guard position. "I also have quite good hearing," Théodred grinned again and moved until he was directly in front of me, also with his sword in 'guard', then swung at me. I dodged and hit him on his leg with the flat of my blade. He gave a yelp of surprise and looked at me; I giggled and beckoned for him to carry on. He grimaced and began performing complicated moves with his sword, which I dodged and parried.

"But how did you jump like that?" he asked breathlessly, jumping back from a swing of my sword, "I've seen Elves do something remotely similar, but even they can't do that!" I slid underneath one of his attacks and poked my sword at his side, just touching the skin.

"Gymnastics," I told him, doing a side flip as he ran at me again, "I'm not the best though," Théodred slid to a stop and stared at me, unable to believe it.

"You're kidding me, right?" he asked, holding his sword loosely in shock; I shook my head.

"No, I wasn't; my best friend Silver was," I explained, switching the sword into my left hand, wondering how good I would be, "She was best at gymnastics, I was behind her," Then I lunged forward swiftly and twisted my sword around Théodred's as he held it limply, sending it flying into the ground near the fence; I saw Father smile.

"I'm not surprised…" he called over, "It must have been a skill that remained with you into the Other World," I scratched my head and walked back to the fence, an unspoken agreement between me and Théodred showing that the fight was over. Théodred yanked his sword out of the ground with some difficulty; I passed mine to Éowyn, who slid it back into the scabbard and kept hold of it. I rolled my shoulder; my muscles were unused to such exercise, and even though the sword was made of mithril, it was still hard to sword fight when your head doesn't know how to do it but your body does!

"So why couldn't I fight like this in the Other World?" I asked Father; he looked thoughtful for a moment, and then shrugged his shoulders.

"That's something to ask Stormcrow when he arrives here, which should be quite soon…" he sighed; I smiled, rubbing the healing cut on my face, and then remembered that Silver had been pushed off the bridge with me. I went cold, almost as if a bucket of water had been poured over me; where was she? What if something terrible had happened to her? What if she hadn't been found yet? I frowned, and then made my mind up.

"Yeah… I'll ask him…"

Silver POV

He was there, leaning on the fence at the edge of the practise fields. He looked lost in thought and didn't even notice us come over. It was only when Pippin poked him in the side that he jumped and turned to face us. He seemed quite surprised to see me there.

"You don't mind if we join you, do you Aragorn?" I asked politely. He stared at me for a second, and then answered.

"Of course not, Lady Silver."

I frowned at him.

"Aragorn, there's no need to call me 'Lady Silver', I'm just plain Silver to you and the Hobbits," I told him a little sharply; I didn't want him treat me any differently. I hoped I hadn't offended him by the tone of my voice; I let out a relieved sigh as he smiled.

"I am honoured to call you Silver," he said, with a hint of amusement in his voice. I just smiled at him and stood beside him, leaning on the fence to watch the Elves in the field. He turned to watch with me, and the Hobbits sat on the grass at our feet, talking softly to one another as if they knew something we didn't. I kept catching them glancing up at Aragorn and me as we stood together.

"The Hobbits are acting strangely," I commented to Aragorn quietly.

"I know what you mean. They're watching us again, by the way," he muttered back, barely even moving his lips. This time I turned around fully to see Sam watching us; he looked quite startled at me noticing him.

"Is Aragorn's hair sticking up? Have my leggings split or something, Sam?"

"No, why?" he asked, surprised.

"Why are you lot staring at us then?" I asked; they all hesitated. "Aragorn, will you check I look okay?"  
I turned for him, as he looked me up and down. My skin tingled, as if I could feel his eyes on me, almost as if he were touching me somehow. I stopped when I was facing him and met those wondrous grey eyes of his; they looked so deep and kind.

"No, you look perfectly fine," he told me, keeping his eyes on mine. A wonderful little thrill went up my spine and I shivered slightly. The Hobbits sniggered a little and I blushed. If they had noticed my sudden lack of composure… Aragorn definitely had, but I thought I should say something.

"As do you, Aragorn," I replied softly and it pleased me for some reason to see some colour appear in his cheeks too. The Hobbits sniggered again; Aragorn frowned at them.

"And what, may I ask, is so funny?" he muttered; The Hobbits stood up and grinned at us.

"Oh, nothing… You'll see it in your own time," Frodo said mysteriously and they all went off together.

"Strange things, Hobbits," Aragorn commented as we watched them walk off together.

"Yeah; they hunt in packs," I mumbled and Aragorn laughed. We turned back to watch the Elves again. They were practicing hand-to-hand combat and I itched to join in. Iana and I had taken self-defence classes; kickboxing and judo. I longed to try out these techniques on the Elves, to see how they would react. I sighed; my brothers had taken us kickboxing every Saturday, and I had practised with them. Aragorn glanced at me when I sighed, concern in those eyes of his.

"Missing the Other World?" he asked quietly; I sighed again and gave him a weak smile.

"A little… It was a horrible world to live in… but it did have its good points, my brothers for one," I told him, equally as quiet. He put a hand on my arm and I looked down at it; I could feel its warmth even through the tunic I wore.

"Every world has its good and bad points," he told me. I couldn't help it; I just put my hand on top of his and squeezed it slightly. He seemed a little surprised at this, but squeezed back.

"You must be this world's best point," I told him, smiling slightly. He smiled back, blushing again.

"And that world must have lost its best point when it lost you," he whispered; it was my turn to blush. A loud cough startled us and we quickly moved our hands, even though we weren't doing anything wrong. It was Glorfindel, walking over to us; he was quite near us and I wouldn't have been surprised if he had heard all that was said with his Elven ears, which were better than mine at the moment. This thought made me blush more, even though Aragorn had only been offering me comfort. He stopped next to us and looked a little angry and flustered, which was strange for an Elf. He kept glaring at Aragorn, and the human couldn't meet the Elf's eyes. I had to break this uneasy silence, or I would scream.

"Good morning Glorfindel; have you been practising?" I asked cheerfully. He turned his gaze to me, but didn't seem as angry. There was a short silence, as though he was deciding what kind of mood to be in. I let out a relieved sigh when he smiled and turned into normal Glorfindel again.

"Yes, Silver; I've just been teaching some of the younger Elves," he replied. "I came over to see if Aragorn would like to join us."

His voice hardened as he said Aragorn's name and Aragorn frowned at him.

"No thank you, Glorfindel," Aragorn replied, his voice just as hard. I gulped; the bad atmosphere had returned.

"Can I have a go?" I suddenly piped up; both man and Elf forgot their situation and stared at me.

"What!" they asked at the same time.

"Can I have a go?" I repeated; I couldn't back out of it now.

"It is not the sport for a woman, Silver," Glorfindel told me. I grinned, remembering the lessons with Iana.

"Try me…"

Oooooo... I get the feeling Silver's going to like annoying Glorfindel and Aragorn; could be the basis for a love triangle-gets throttled by Silver or not...

Hugs to all!

Iana XxX


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the long gap between updates, I've been having some trouble trying to get the second chapter of 'Faramir's Chance' out of my head and onto the computer! Argh, writer's block!

Thank you for the reviews; sorry I can't write a 'thank you' to all of you individually, but I'm trying to eat my breakfast and type at the same time! Not easy!!

Iana POV

We began walking back to the Golden Hall, when Father suddenly stopped. Éomer and Éowyn looked confused, as did Théodred and I; but Father was thinking. Then a look of revelation passed across his face.

"I knew I'd forgotten something," he muttered, turning and heading off to the main gate to the city. I looked at Théodred for an explanation; he just shrugged his shoulders, took hold of my hand and pulled me after Father, Éomer and Éowyn following. The guards stared at me as we passed them; I realised I was still wearing clothes from the Other World. I knew I'd have to wear stuff like that Éowyn or Théodred wore eventually, but it didn't feel right to get rid of them, not yet…

The gates were opened for us and we slipped out. Father led us down the dirt path, past the burial mounds of the Old Kings of Rohan and out towards the plains beyond. I thought it was a bit strange for the King to go so far from his city without a guard; but then I remembered that Éomer and Théodred were with us, more than making up for the lack of protection. Father stopped abruptly, looking out to the horizon. I followed his gaze; suddenly I felt so small, and the world felt so big… I realised that I was nothing in this world, just another tiny pawn in the giant plan of the Gods…

Théodred looked at me, wondering what was wrong, if I was upset by something. He was still holding my hand and gave it a little squeeze, trying to comfort me. I looked up at him; he smiled down at me and gave me a quick hug. It made me feel a little better, to know that there were people here that loved me and wanted to protect me, that I wasn't alone… But what about Silver?

Father turned to look at me, a smile on his face. Suddenly, I wondered what I had got myself into; what had I done now? I gulped as Father beckoned me towards him, motioning for the others to go a bit further back. I looked at Théodred; he smiled at me reassuringly and winked, I smiled back at him weakly. Father took my hand and led me further away from the city and the others; eventually we were almost 500 yards away. He stopped and turned to me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"You've been away for a long time," he told me quietly, "And now you must reacquaint yourself with some old friends…" I frowned, not knowing what he was going on about. Seeing my confusion, Father smiled and turned to look over the plains again, keeping one hand on my shoulder. With the other, he raised the fingers to his lips and gave a piercing whistle. I stood still, shocked at the sound. We waited for what seemed like an hour, when in fact it was only a couple of minutes; then I felt a rumbling beneath my feet…

"They'll be so pleased to see you again…" Father sighed; I looked down, wondering what on earth was happening; Father didn't seem to be affected, or else he just ignored it and carried on watching. Suddenly, two horses - one a light grey, the other black - appeared on the horizon, approaching at an amazing speed. I gasped as they swiftly reached and passed us, turning around and coming back. I kept turning around to watch as the two of them circled us, making sure they couldn't come up from behind me.

"What's going on?" I breathed, terrified. The horses were huge compared to me. Admittedly, I was smaller than Father, but still; the ears of the black horse were a foot and a half above my head… The grey horse was slightly smaller than the black one, but looked older.

"Just calm down and stay still," Father advised; I nodded and forced myself to stand next to him, trying to control my breathing. Finally the horses stopped circling, almost as if they were pleased by what they had found for them. Father sighed with relief and stepped away from my side as the grey horse came forward, its nose almost an inch away from my face. I held my breath and screwed up my eyes, waiting for something dreadful to happen. But it didn't. The horse gently touched my forehead with its muzzle, breathing warm air on me. I opened my eyes and the horse lowered its head, bending its knees to bow to me. I stared, unable to comprehend what the horse was actually doing. Was this meant to happen? What was I supposed to do for it? I looked at Father, who just smiled and said nothing. Turning back to the horses, I discovered that the grey horse had stood back up. It began nudging my chest, almost as if it wanted me to stroke it.

Very hesitantly, I raised my hand and touched its nose, feeling the softness of its coat, the warmth of the skin. I reached up and stroked its cheek, then its neck, smoothing down its mane. I smiled as the horse gave a little whinny and put its head over my shoulder; I wrapped my arms carefully around its neck. Suddenly, pain exploded inside my head. New images flooded through my mind, too quickly for me to make any sense of them. I tried to take a step backwards and fell over. I stayed there, lying on the ground, holding my head in my hands. Father had rushed over and was kneeling beside me, trying to pull my hands away from my head to see what was wrong. As suddenly as the pain had started, it stopped; I lay there shaking, wiping tears of pain away from my eyes.

"Are you okay?" Father asked, helping me to sit up. I nodded, looking at the horses; the black one had come closer to me, standing not far behind Father, who supported me as I stood up.

"What happened?" he breathed, pushing my hair away from my face, taking care of the cut; I stared at the horses.

"I remember…" I whispered, before walking slowly up to the black horse. It rolled its eyes at me and snorted, backing away slightly; the grey horse turned around and whinnied sharply at the black one. It stopped moving and allowed me to approach it, and then to touch its nose.

"Naiad…" I whispered; the black horse looked at me with its warm eyes, and then put its head over my shoulder in the horse equivalent of a hug. I threw my arms around its neck and smiled. I remembered the time when the grey horse, Florian, was mine; when I rode her. Then she had given birth to Naiad and he had belonged to me as well. But I had left before he had grown up; he was now fourteen years old, a Mearas entering his prime. It was unusual to find a black Mearas, and I had known that when Naiad was born. The Mearas were ordinarily white or grey, like Florian. And as Shadowfax was Naiad's father, I would have expected Naiad to turn out white or light grey. But his colouring suited me down to the ground; it must have been nature preparing Naiad for my future return after I had changed… Father came over and put a hand on my shoulder; I turned to him smiling.

"I remember them…" I breathed; Father grinned happily.

"Yes, now make them remember you…" he told me, walking to Florian's side. I frowned and then realised what he was implying; my mouth dropped open.

"Without a saddle and bridle?" I asked, astonished. Father raised an eyebrow; I realised that the Mearas wouldn't take being tacked up lightly…

"That's how you were taught…" Father sounded slightly upset; I smiled weakly at my forgetfulness and placed my hand on Florian's withers. Just as he was bending down to give me leg up, I swung myself up onto Florian's back with ease, stroking her mane; Father looked surprised.

"Silver and I took lessons in the Other World, "I explained, "I was the best, then Silver. We both got awards for picking it up so fast…" Father smiled.

"Another skill that remained with you in the Other World…" he declared, I grinned and settled myself on Florian's back, holding onto her mane lightly, "Be careful…" he advised, stepping out of the way. Florian gave a haughty neigh, almost as if she was asking Father whether he thought she'd let anything happen to me. Father laughed and gave her a quick pat on the neck; she snorted at Naiad and turned towards the east.

"I don't know when I'll be back…" I told Father, trailing off as I wondered what I'd do if I ended up riding in the dark; Father shrugged his shoulders.

"You'll be safe with a Mearas, even more so with two," he grinned, "I wasn't expecting you back until these two had shown you just what they can do now anyway. If it takes until tomorrow morning, you'll still be riding then!" I raised my eyebrows; were the Mearas really that strong? I'd read about their speed, but nothing about their stamina… I shrugged my shoulders and blew Father a kiss before Florian took off.

I gave a whoop of joy, hanging on for dear life as Florian left Edoras behind. I'd ridden fast horses in the Other World, but nothing like this! This was amazing! I turned around and saw Naiad following us at an ever so slightly slower pace; not much, but enough to leave a 6 metre or more gap between the two. I turned back to the front; the wind hit me like a slap in the face, making my eyes water. I wanted to wipe them, but had visions of unbalancing and falling under Florian's pounding hooves. Bit by bit, I raised one hand to my face and quickly brushed my eyes, grabbing Florian's mane as soon as I had finished. It was only a couple of minutes later, when I realised that I hadn't even wobbled when I had done it. I smiled and tried again, keeping my arms up for longer. I kept doing it; soon I could hold my arms out to the sides for minutes at a time without unbalancing. I realised that I would have to be balanced in order to fight on horseback and to perform various other tasks.

I was quite pleased with myself; that was until I spotted a large stream in front of Florian. I gulped, aware that I had no saddle to protect my bottom, nor no reins to hold onto as she jumped. We were on top of it all too soon. I could feel Florian's muscles tense underneath my legs as she prepared to leap over the obstacle; I gripped with my knees and held her neck with shaking hands. But I needn't have worried; Florian cleared the stream perfectly, as can be expected from one of the Mearas…It wasn't even uncomfortable; it was actually better than when I had jumped with a saddle in the Other World. She landed softly despite her speed and carried on galloping swiftly; I heard Naiad land behind us and continue following. I looked over to the right and saw that we were passing a large forest; my mind thought back to the books that I had so hurriedly stuffed into my bag three days ago. I wondered if everything here was the same as it was in the books and the films. If it was, then I had just jumped over the Mering Stream, and the forest on my right was Firien Wood. If I was riding east from Edoras, then I was already in Gondor, the Mering Stream being Gondor and Rohan's common border. I laughed as I realised that I had travelled almost 125 miles already! I couldn't believe it; these horses were more than I could have expected from the Mearas. I knew they were fast, but in the films it took Gandalf almost a day and a half on Shadowfax to get to where I was. And neither of them showed any signs of stopping yet…

Éowyn's POV

I watched as Uncle Théoden whistled for the horses for Iana; I smiled as Iana spun around as the horses circled her. I knew that she was wondering what they were doing; I remembered Théodred being the same when it was his turn. But I wondered how the horses were able to let Iana ride them; the rule had always applied to the King and his sons, so Iana must be the first female that they had allowed to ride the Mearas since the deal was made with Eorl…

"What's happening?" Théodred asked, standing up from where he had been sitting, messing around with bits of dry grass. I looked back at Uncle and Iana, realising that I had been daydreaming. Instead of standing with the horses, Iana was writhing around on the floor, Uncle trying to help her. I bit my lip, wondering what was going on. Théodred started to run to her, but Éomer grabbed his arm with both hands, shaking his head; Théodred looked worried.

"I know she's only just returned," Éomer explained, "But you can't run to her aid every time there's a little bit of trouble." Théodred turned to him with a frown, then nodded and stood there, watching Iana and Uncle.

Iana had sat up with help from Uncle, and stood up as we watched, using him for support. The black horse was standing nearer to them; Iana walked over and stroked it, then mounted the grey horse. I couldn't remember the name of the black horse; he wasn't seen around here very often. His mother, Florian, was always around here, giving help to the riders if their horses were playing up. Florian was the perfect mount for anybody, never mind a woman; there was many a time I had wished that I could try riding her, but I knew that she would never carry me. I looked down and discovered that I was still holding the sword that Iana had used in the practice with Théodred. I looked at the sheath, noticing the scratch marks and blackened parts; I gulped, knowing full well where they had come from. I looked back out to Uncle and Iana, feeling tears pricking the back of my eyes in memory.

Suddenly, the grey horse took off, galloping away as fast as the wind, Iana giving a loud cry of joy. I smiled as Uncle stood there for a couple of minutes and then came back to us.

"What happened?" Théodred burst out as soon as Uncle was close enough, unable to keep his concern contained any longer; Uncle frowned.

"The same as before," he sighed, "A small portion of her memory has returned; enough for her to remember the horses, but nothing else." Théodred grimaced.

"How bad was the pain this time?" he asked; Uncle looked away. Théodred bit his lip and looked back out over the plains to the speck that was Iana, disappearing fast. I sighed and took Uncle's hand, leading him back to the city; Éomer put a hand on Théodred's shoulder and steered him towards the city.

As soon as we got to The Hall, I sent one of the women off to get something for all of us to eat, and hot drinks for Uncle and Théodred. I helped Uncle to sit down on a bench at a table and I sat next to him; Théodred sat opposite Uncle, Éomer across from me. It felt weird without Iana, even though she'd only been here for two days; Théodred was silent, obviously wondering where she was now. Soon, the woman reappeared with a tray of food and drinks. I thanked her and dealt the food out, passing Uncle and Théodred the hot drinks. I looked at Éomer as neither of them touched the food nor drinks; Éomer frowned, looking slightly worried.

After what felt like a couple of minutes, the two of them decided to head off for bed, not wishing to stay and dwell in each other's misery. I stood up and stacked Éomer's empty plates and mine up on the tray, along with the ones untouched by Théodred and Uncle. I sighed and picked up the cups with the drinks in, also untouched, and put them on the tray. I looked around and realised how dark it was; we must have been sitting here for two hours at least…

"Where do you think she is?" I asked Éomer quietly; he looked at me with his comforting brown eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know how fast those horses can go," he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "But I'd guess somewhere between Minas Tirith and Firien Wood…" I looked at him with wide eyes.

"That far…?" I whispered in awe; Éomer nodded and picked up the tray, standing up.

"You go to bed," he told me, "I'll sort this out," I smiled at him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and walking towards the stairs that led to our private quarters.

"Éowyn?" Éomer called; I turned around, "Don't forget this," He threw me the sword that I had left on the table. I caught it and smiled at him in thanks; I would take it to Iana's room and leave it there for her. I was pretty sure that Uncle would want her to have it; after all, it had belonged to her mother…

I know, a bit of an exaggeration with the distance that the horses travelled. But who wouldn't want horses that can run like the wind?!

Hugs!

Iana XxX


	12. Chapter 12

YAY!!!! Mad dance You wouldn't believe how long I've been waiting for this site to let me update my stories! But now it's finally letting me, I'll be getting on with it...

Padme4000: So glad you like the story!

Hope and love: I'm happy you love the story; could you possibly elaborate a bit more on just what you love? Then I'll try and add more of it!

Iana POV

We were still riding onwards, hooves thundering underneath and behind me. I wondered how long this would go on when I realised that we were approaching a gravel road heading from east to west. Florian slowed down slightly and swerved left onto the road. She carried on for a couple more minutes before stopping completely. Naiad stopped beside us; I jumped off Florian and went to her head.

"That was amazing…" I breathed, stroking her cheek. Florian arched her neck and looked quite proud; I felt her shoulder and realised that she was only just starting to work up a sweat; my mouth dropped open in amazement. Not many other horses could have galloped that far without breaking their wind, let alone sweat… Naiad snorted, looking for attention. I grinned and turned to him, feeling his shoulder; this one was only just warming up! I couldn't believe it! Suddenly, Florian was pushing me towards Naiad's back, obviously wanting me to get on him. I frowned and mounted him, looking at Florian. But she was conversing with Naiad in quiet snorts and whinnies. Then she stepped aside and gave a small neigh. Naiad started walking forward, following the road, then trotted, cantering, eventually galloping away from Florian. I gasped as I realised Naiad was a lot faster than Florian, and a lot more free in his movement. I could feel his muscles moving beneath me as he ran; I looked over his shoulder and saw how far he stretched his forelegs in front him. I thought for a while; Naiad had obviously broken out of the traditional teaching, where the horse is taught to run at a pace where the movements are comfortable for the rider. He was stretching his legs to the limit, expanding his pace even if he jerked me around. That was why he was so fast! His paces were at the same rate as Florian's, just a lot longer and stronger, allowing for a quicker covering of large distances. I wondered who had taught him… Or if he had been taught at all…

We galloped along for a long time; soon the sun began sinking behind us, casting strange shadows before us. I began worrying; where was Naiad taking me? Why was he taking me? But I didn't know whether to stop him and to try and turn him around, whether he would obey my command or ignore me and carry on. I decided to let Naiad take me where he wanted, remembering that Father had said I was safe with a Mearas.

Eventually it was almost dark; I began to worry a bit more. Naiad had shown no signs of neither slowing down, nor of turning around and going back the way we had come…

"Naiad," I whispered in his ear, "_Sedho, nuitho i'aeg_!" Naiad snorted and threw his head up and down, but didn't stop. I sighed; what was he trying to do? Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end; Naiad stopped immediately, almost pitching me over his head. I stared out before us, wondering what on earth could affect both of us like this.

"I don't like the feeling of this…" I muttered to myself; Naiad gave a little snort and backed up slightly in fear, "_Sedho_," I hissed, gripping his sides with my knees; he stopped moving, but I could feel his flanks heaving beneath my legs. The area of the road in front of seemed darker than the surroundings, filled with an evil presence… Suddenly, I could hear the crunching sound of hooves on the road; I held my breath as I waited to see what would appear.

I didn't see them until they were only a couple of paces away; four Black Riders sitting on black horses. I gasped, unconsciously directing Naiad back with a slight kick of my feet. Naiad was breathing even quicker now; the Riders moved towards us and stopped. I gulped and looked around, wondering what they were doing here. I knew what they were, but I didn't know what to do now that they had seen me. One of them moved slightly ahead of the rest of them, its head fixed on me.

"_We've been expecting you_…" it hissed; I felt a shiver creep up my spine at the sound of it.

"Who are you?" I asked quietly, even thought I already knew. The Black Rider made a noise halfway between a laugh and a screech.

"_We are the ones that captured you before_!" it cried, its horse rolling its red eyes back in horror. My breath was coming in ragged gasps now, as small memories wormed their way out of the fog that lay over my mind. I shook my head to try and clear it; the Black Rider made its strange laugh again.

"_You cannot escape us_," it growled, "_Our master wishes to see you again_…" It began coming towards me again, the other three following it.

"Keep away from me!" I cried out, "He will never be _my_ master!" Naiad backed away even further, obviously wanting to get away as quickly as possible. The Riders were only a foot away from us when a loud roar rent the air. Naiad reared up in shock, twisting and pawing at the air; I clung on when another large black shape appeared on the road between me and the Riders. It roared again; the Black Riders screamed, their horses rearing in fright.

"_You again_!" the lead Rider screeched, "_Our Captain will have his revenge!"_ It drew its sword. The others copied, also screeching into the night. I realised that I had no weapon on me with which to fight, having left the sword with Éowyn; I gulped, wondering how long I'd last…

The creature on the road jumped onto the lead Rider's horse, which gave a terrible scream and started bucking around, trying to throw it off. The other Riders watched in horror as the creature managed to pull the Rider off the horse, and began clawing at it. The horse was shrieking in pain; I couldn't bear to watch any longer. Naiad was snorting and prancing around, held in place only by my legs, that were gripping his sides so hard they were going numb. The Rider jumped onto one of the other horses and the lot of them disappeared the way they had come. The creature left the horse alone and chased the Black Riders for a while, roaring in anger; the horse got up and cantered off into the darkness, snorting in pain. I didn't want to wait around to see what the creature would do to me; I whirled Naiad around and gave his sides a quick squeeze. He didn't need anymore urging than that; he galloped off as if the creature was actually after him.

Phew! Poor Naiad; I'm so mean... And what is the strange creature? Why is defending Iana and Naiad from the Black Riders? He he he! You'll have to wait and see!


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